Karen Handel

Karen Handel
Official portrait, 2017
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Georgia's 6th district
In office
June 26, 2017 – January 3, 2019
Preceded byTom Price
Succeeded byLucy McBath
26th Secretary of State of Georgia
In office
January 13, 2007 – January 8, 2010
GovernorSonny Perdue
Preceded byCathy Cox
Succeeded byBrian Kemp
Personal details
Born
Karen Christine Walker

(1962-04-18) April 18, 1962 (age 62)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Steve Handel
(m. 1992)

Karen Christine Handel (née Walker; born April 18, 1962) is an American businesswoman and former politician. A member of the Republican Party, Handel served as chair of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners from 2003 to 2006, as Secretary of State of Georgia from 2007 to 2010, and in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2017 to 2019.

In 2010, Handel ran for Governor of Georgia but narrowly lost the Republican primary to Nathan Deal, who attacked Handel as overly supportive of gay rights and abortion rights.[1][2][3] In 2011, Handel was appointed Senior Vice President of public policy at Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a charity focused on fighting breast cancer.[4] Handel pushed the charity to cut off Komen's funding for breast-cancer screening at Planned Parenthood, reportedly because of her personal anti-abortion views.[5] In the ensuing uproar over politicization of the charity, Handel resigned from Komen in February 2012.[6][7]

In 2017, Handel became the first Republican woman from Georgia elected to Congress after winning a special election to fill a vacancy in Georgia's 6th congressional district. In the 2018 general election, Handel narrowly lost her seat to Democrat Lucy McBath. On November 3, 2020, Handel lost to McBath in a rematch, earning a lower percentage of the vote than she did in 2018.

  1. ^ Tesfamichaela, Negassi (June 21, 2017). "Who is Karen Handel? Bio, facts and background". Politico.
  2. ^ "Handel concedes to Deal in Georgia". Associated Press. August 11, 2010.
  3. ^ Tharpe, Jim (June 16, 2010). "Did Handel ever join the Log Cabin Republicans?". PolitiFact.
  4. ^ "Komen.org" (PDF). Retrieved January 26, 2013.
  5. ^ Goldberg, Jeffrey (February 2, 2012). "Top Susan G. Komen Official Resigned Over Planned Parenthood Cave-In". The Atlantic.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Washington_Post_Handel_resigns was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Preston, Jennifer (February 7, 2012). "After Outcry, a Senior Official Resigns at Komen". The New York Times.